Category Archives: Uncategorized

It needs to be said that there is nothing more frustrating than learning of application or website that you really want to check out and it doesn’t work. Recently I discovered Chateau Ste Michelle in Woodinville, WA developed an app on Facebook called My Chateau. This application allows you to playfully create an equation that begins with, “Me + A glass of Wine,” then you fill in the blanks with any number of possibilities and this equals your “Chateau,” or happy place. The 2009 press release on CSM’s website states that you can also find a digital sommelier and food pairing information with this app. However it doesn’t work, I can’t pull it up. A window pops up stating that the URL does not match the app’s settings. Now the campaign was launched in 2012 to reach women from ages 25-38 who are busy with careers and/or parenting. It was creating to be a more whimsical place where a woman can just be herself as she is, without any other imposing labels. This sounds great and I want to play with it but I can’t. I have sent an email to CSM regarding the application. I hope to get a response soon.

It’s always fun to hear what your favorite artists or movies stars need to keep them going. It humanizes them from their super star status and makes them relatable. This was the purpose of an interview with Rascal Flatts. They discussed their necessary items when on tour to keep them moving forward in the long hours of travel and performances. Gary LeVox, the country band’s front man, stated he always needs his Bible and Diet Mountain Dew. Joe Don Rooney, the guitarist, always needs his golf clubs as well as, of course, his guitar. They expressed that they miss their families, their beds and the comforts of home. The biggest reason celebrity news is so popular is because the perception of their lives is such a fantasy. When we get to hear about their issues or successes it makes us feel encouraged that in some way the fantasy is on the same level as us. In this particular example they are presenting an image of being likeable family men who you can respect as well as love their music. This image, along with talent, fuels the sale of tickets, albums, and merchandise. It’s all part of marketing their music and creating that paycheck.

Social media is becoming more and more critical in our society, both locally and globally. We are able to receive information so quickly it can be scary at times. It’s like a massive river current cutting canyons and tumbling down hundreds of feet, if left to itself it will reform the land as it pleases. However when the power of this current is harnessed it becomes an amazing tool creating electricity to thousands, provide water to places otherwise dry and unusable, providing life. Social Media has the power to be just as effective in the world of communication as a river is to economic growth.

I have taken courses at Central Washington University where I am obtaining my Bachelor’s degree that have touched on the importance of Social Media. I am a Global Wine Studies major, making the primary focus advertisement and brand recognition via Social Media. The unit subject matter focused primarily on how Social Media is emerging as an important platform for advertisement and business promotion. What, as a student, I would like to learn more about is how to use human psychology to continually create advertisements that go viral. The human attention span is shorter than goldfish according to recent studies due to the constant bombardment of information and ads. I would like to learn the tools to transcend this as time continues to change what interest us as humans.

On May 22, 2014 two teen-aged girls from my hometown went missing. One of the one is a girl I used to babysit very frequently when I was a teenager, her age now. We are all in a state of vigilance, hoping and praying that these two girls will be found and returned home safely as we receive updates through Facebook and Twitter.

Social Media is helping immensely in the pursuit of missing children. Fox News posted an article in 2011 that states the use of these media sites has helped recover 98.5% of Amber Alerts since 2005. This statistic comes from NCMEC. One little girl, according to the article, was found just five hours after the Amber Alert was sent out over Facebook and Twitter.

Public Relations create strategies to communicate with the Public. Social Media is a very effective tool to do that. By sharing social media links to others, it becomes viral, the more people it reaches the better chance there is of finding these girls. I shared the link to the news article and within one day that link went as far as Florida where my Uncle Mike lives. The viral nature of the Internet is used as a strategy in this case, to bring awareness of people far and wide to look out for these girls, wherever they might end up.

South Korea’s President has gone on record apologizing for the Ferry disaster that killed 300 people. She stated that as President it is her responsibility that a rescue was not better executed. She has stated for the world to know that she is dismantling the Coast Guard and all investigative information will go the newly established Department of National Security. The country is outraged at the lack of response to save the victims of the sinking ferry. The President has proposed that a monument be put in place to honor those who lost their lives many of them school aged. The Captain of the ferry is being charged with murder as well as three other crewmembers. The rest of the crewmembers are being indicted for abandonment and violating safety protocol.

I find it interesting that it took a month for the South Korea President to make a formal apology. The sinking happened on April 16th, this statement was just released, as it is now Monday May 19th in South Korea. I will say it is refreshing that a world leader actually did take full responsibility for the death of their citizens in such a disaster. That is not something you commonly see a President of a country to do.

Politics are always a fun topic when it comes to Public Relations. As elections wax and wane we are fed all kinds of information regarding the people who run our country. The newest story in the news right now regards Hilary Clinton, who sustained a concussion followed by a blood clot in 2012. Karl Rove has stated that the release of Clinton’s medical records is a necessity to determine if she is capable to run for President in 2016. The situation, according to Rove, has been blown wildly out of proportion as he simply want to know if Clinton’s health and fairly recent major health episode was being taken into consideration as she considers becoming a candidate for President. Health records are supposedly required to be open for review when running for President. Democrats then disputed rove’s comments as complete lies; confirming that Clinton does not have brain damage, as Rove has said. Rove did not say she had brain damage, but stated that Hilary’s major health episode seemed suspicious and if she was running for President it was only right to know if she’s up for the job both mentally and physically.

I do not envy anyone who works Public Relations on a political campaign or for a political figure. The backlash over any comment made about anyone is enough to give me a headache. The he said, she said smear campaigns certainly will never leave one bored, with nothing to do. The balance between total honesty and careful discretion is paramount to this position.